Josh Freeman: Benched By Tampa Bay Buccaneers

ESPNThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers have decided to bench quarterback Josh Freeman for rookie Mike Glennon, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Coach Greg Schiano had said Monday that Freeman was still his starting quarterback. Freeman has completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes this season, but Schiano said Monday that the fifth-year quarterback hasn’t played terribly. “He’s done some good things and he’s done some things that we’d like to change and he’d like to change,” Schiano said. “But it’s the whole offensive unit. We need to be more precise. We need to be coached more precisely.” The Buccaneers selected Glennon in the third round (73rd overall) of the 2013 draft. Tampa Bay hosts the Arizona Cardinals (1-2) on Sunday.

This move is not a surprise to me, when Greg Schiano took the Tampa Bay Buccaneers job before last season, rumors began to swirl immediately that he was not a fan of Freeman and that Freeman’s starting job was in jeopardy. Before the 2013 season Schaino stripped Freeman of his team captain status, apparently because Freeman overslept and missed the team picture, a move that does not inspire confidence in the rest of the team that the coaching staff is confident in their quarterback.

Freeman is in the final year of his contract, and I think it’s safe to say that he will not be a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next season, and maybe it’s time that we formally inset the (0-3) Bucs into the Teddy Bridgewater sweepstakes, despite the fact that they lost two of these games on the final play of regulation.

It is going to be interesting to see what the future holds for Greg Schinao in Tampa Bay, if he has a future there at all, and it may now be tied to rookie quarterback Mike Glennon. It is no secret that veteran safety Ronde Barber was not a fan of Greg Schinao’s strict coaching style before his retirement last offseason, and since then several other veterans have questioned if Schinao’s coaching style will work in the NFL. It is tough to yell at full grown men who make millions-upon-millions of dollars per year for being late to a meeting or a practice, as Nick Saban learned, you can yell and scream at college kids but not adults. It seems that “Player’s Coaches” like Pete Carroll can make the transition to the NFL with ease, however strict disciplinarians like Saban and Schiano do not work, again it is hard to discipline millionaire adult men.

Do not be surprised if Schiano returns to coaching in the college ranks after the 2013 season, he will get a big time job and several will be open (Texas?), clearly his coaching style is not a fit in the NFL.